By: Phillips (Senate Sponsor - Harris) H.B. No. 3876
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2009;
May 19, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on
Jurisprudence; May 23, 2009, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 23, 2009, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain enforcement actions alleging the failure to pay
child support.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 157.162, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), the court may award the
petitioner costs of court and reasonable attorney's fees in a
proceeding described by that subsection if the court finds that:
(1) on the date the motion for enforcement was filed,
the respondent was not current in the payment of child support as
ordered by the court; and
(2) the respondent made the child support payments
described by Subsection (d) after the date the respondent was
served notice or otherwise discovered that the motion for
enforcement had been filed.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a motion for enforcement that is filed on or after the effective
date of this Act. A motion for enforcement filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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